Chocolate Chunk Drop Cookies.Liam Mogan/The Globe and Mail
Cookies made with dough you drop by the spoonful onto a baking sheet are among the simplest to make – chocolate chunk are the most familiar, but you could add just about anything to that soft, buttery brown sugar dough.
Servings: About two dozen cookies
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped dark chocolate
Method
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes, until pale and light. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and stir or beat on low speed until almost combined; add the chocolate chunks (and/or any other additions you like) and stir by hand or mix on low speed just until blended.
Drop the dough by the spoonful (or use a small ice-cream scoop for more uniform cookies) onto a parchment-lined sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden around the edges but still soft in the middle.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to four days.
How to dress them up:
- Add the grated zest of an orange as you beat the butter and sugar. Use chopped dark chocolate for chocolate-orange cookies, or swap white chocolate and add some dried cranberries or cherries and chopped pecans to the dough as well.
- Stir in chopped holiday chocolates such as Toblerone or Turtles instead of plain chocolate.
- Swap 1/2 cup cocoa for 1/2 cup of the flour to make chocolate dough, and stir in a combination of chopped white and dark chocolate.